CSHL Archives’ mission is to collect and document both the history of science at Cold Spring Harbor, and the history of molecular biology and genetics in general. We are home to the personal collections of numerous notable scientists, including Nobel laureates James D. Watson, Barbara McClintock, Alfred Hershey, Walter Gilbert, and Hermann Muller. Our collections date back to the early days of scientific research at Cold Spring Harbor, including Charles Davenport (first director of the Carnegie Institution of Washington Department of Genetics), Reginald Harris (first director of Long Island Biological Association), and Hugo Fricke (radiation scientist at CSH from 1928-1955). The Archives also contains the personal collections of recent CSHL scientists, such as yeast geneticists Amar Klar, James Hicks, and Jeffrey Strathern, as well history of science scholars, such Elof Carlson and Errol Friedberg. Our collections generally consist of correspondence, photographs, laboratory notebooks, administrative files, memorabilia, and audiovisual media.

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For specific information on the availability of materials or to arrange an appointment to use the Archives, please contact (516)367-8414 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Please consult our Permissions & Copyright Policies for any materials you wish to use.